When the group broke to make camp, Barrett dropped his pack by a crooked tree and began rummaging. He hauled out a high-end tent—the kind glossy magazines marketed to “outdoors enthusiasts”—and started snapping poles together. The survivors stared as nylon walls rose tall, fit for a Mongol khan.

  Then came a queen-size air mattress. He unrolled it, knelt, and inflated. The hiss of air filled the silence.

  Barrett grinned.

  Best money I ever put on a store card. Guess the bank’s outta luck.

  He could feel the eyes on his back. “Stop checking out my ass and build your own shelter,” he said without turning.

  The suns dipped low, painting the sky with streaks of violet. Others scrounged branches and leaves, building crude lean-tos or circling sticks for fire. Barrett noticed Pantsuit conjuring a flame in her palm, coaxing embers into kindling.

  “Yo, Pantsuit,” Barrett called. “Mind sharing some of that blowtorch?”

  She turned, lips curling into a fierce smile. “Sure thing.” A ball of fire leapt from her hand.

  Barrett cursed and rolled aside as it streaked past, sizzling into the dirt. He pushed himself up, laughing. “Damn, woman, you trying to kill me?”

  She strode closer, offering him a hand up. He took it, still chuckling. “You know, I like the kind of woman who can kick my ass.”

  She winked. “And I like the kind of guy who…is nothing like you.”

  “Well, guess we’ll both be disappointed.” He squeezed her hand tighter than necessary, making her flinch. “Name’s Barrett Don—”

  She cut him off with a raised palm. “I know. Can I just call you D-bag for short?”

  Barrett huffed. “Whatever, Pantsuit.”

  “It’s Rei,” she corrected with a smirk, turning away.

  “You know, there’s still room for a queen…on my queen.” He yelled after her.

  She didn’t turn around.

  —

  There were two fires gathered at night, Barrett noted, one closer to him and the other further down with Fred and some of the others.

  His scowl deepened when he spotted pantsuit and quad girl over there.

  “You prefer Rei or Tanya?”

  Barrett nearly jumped. Granny had settled beside him, hands folded in her lap, eyes twinkling. She’d caught his gaze.

  “I prefer whatever I can get,” he muttered.

  “That’s a good attitude,” she replied warmly.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Barrett smirked. At least I’ve got Granny. Perfect. Just like prom.

  “Why do you ask?” Barrett added after a moments silence.

  Before the old woman could reply, the small red-head with the pigtails chimed in.

  “I read once, ‘Tell me what a man finds sexually attractive and I will tell you his entire philosophy of life.’”

  Barrett jumped; the old woman nodded, smiling.

  “Just my luck. Out of all the women in the world, I somehow end up in a fantasy world with the .001% of them who read Ayn Rand,” Barrett muttered.

  The old woman chuckled. “Are you a reader, Barrett?”

  He scoffed, “Long time ago, prior life I was.”

  “Why did you stop?” the younger girl chimed in now, shivering despite the flames. Her cheeks were flushed, her breaths shallow. Barrett noticed but said nothing at first.

  He thought about why he had stopped reading. It was his first and favorite hobby. Not sports or playing outside, he had grown up spending most of his time on a couch with a book.

  The other two were now looking at the fire, and in their own thoughts, they slightly jumped when Barrett chimed in after a time, not expecting him to answer.

  “At some point, I just decided to throw away the instruction manuals and start building the damn thing, ya know?” he looked up and saw the redhead nodding intently and the old woman smiling.

  “Very wise Mister Donovan!”

  He chuckled and threw more wood into the fire. Barrett looked around. It was a crisp night, reminding him of summer camp.

  The blonde boy in the hoodie and his portly friend sat close, cracking jokes about their stat screens. The old man in the aloha shirt passed out small fish he’d caught with a makeshift net, their meager dinner for the night.

  Eventually, conversation dried up, and exhaustion set in. Barrett rose, muttered goodnight, and slipped into his tent. The queen mattress felt heavenly beneath him. But as he pulled the blankets over himself, he clenched his jaw.

  Come on. Don’t get soft.

  He sighed, threw the covers off, and stalked back out. The redhead was trembling in her sleep. With a grunt, he pulled off his coat and draped it over her. Granny’s smile caught his eye; he nodded once and turned back inside.

  A moment later, the flap opened, and he stormed back out again, shaking his head.

  “Yo red.” He nudged the girl with his foot. “Get in the bed.”

  Her eyes shot open, wide and uncertain. “Umm…Mister Donovan…?”

  The blonde boy in the hoodie whipped around. “Yo! Dude, what the hell?!”

  Barrett ignored him and looked at Granny. “You too.”

  Both boys leapt to their feet now. “Dude!”

  The blonde tried again, voice cracking. “What kind of sick—?!”

  Barrett scowled. “What are you idiots talking about? It’s a queen mattress. They’re freezing. I’ll take the dirt.”

  Granny chuckled sweetly. “That’s very kind of you, Barrett.” She helped the redhead to her feet and ushered her into the tent. As she walked past, she winked at Barrett and whispered, “We’re even now.”

  Barrett dropped into their spot by the fire, arms crossed. The redhead peeked out of the flap. “Umm…thank you, Mister Donovan. But I don’t think I should—”

  “Just get in there and sleep,” Barrett cut her off.

  She ducked inside. The boys sat back down, sheepish, not meeting his eye. Barrett grunted, tugged his coat tighter.

  Bunch of damn perverts, thinking like that.

  —

  Footsteps crunched in the dirt. Barrett cracked an eye open as Rei strode past, probably off to piss. She slowed when she saw him lying outside.

  Her brow arched. “Already tucked two queens into your queen, huh?”

  Barrett sat up. “The hell are you talking about?”

  Rei laughed, brushing it off. “Relax, I’m joking. No need to kick out a sick kid and an old lady.”

  “Tsssk. Like I would…for you,” he muttered.

  Rei tilted her head, firelight catching her eyes. Then, softer: “Can’t sleep. Thought a walk might help.”

  “Congrats,” Barrett said, leaning back. “Knock yourself out.”

  A loud, deliberate cough came from across the fire. Barrett glanced over. The two boys were giving him gigantic, frantic, go with her expressions.

  “What’s wrong with you idiots?” Barrett asked.

  “BRO,” the gamer boy whispered, stabbing a finger toward Rei. “GO. WITH. HER.”

  Rei chuckled. “Walk would be good. Shame about all the monsters and goblins. Sure would be handy to have an alpha male with me.”

  Barrett’s heart leapt, but he forced his face into a scowl. “I, uh, was actually just about to do the same!”

  Behind him, the boys fist-pumped and mouthed nice.

  Rei smirked. “Really? Looked like you were trying pretty hard to sleep.”

  “Looks can be deceiving,” Barrett grunted, pushing himself up. “Now let’s go.”